Air raid drill? Say, what?!? Luckily, Aunt Ivy had warned us ahead of time for the upcoming city-wide air raid drill today from 1:30-2PM, or else we would have looked like one of these hapless tourists being forced indoors by the heavy police presence today. Since 1978 Taiwan has held an annual air raid drill […]
Taiwan
Yingge Ceramics (鶯歌陶瓷)
It’s baaaack. That soul crushing Taiwanese summer heat that transforms rational, even-tempered people into a beastly state of irritability has made its unwelcome reappearance. As an adult I realize that complaining about the weather is childish and unseemly, but the sheer oppressive nature of the heat here defies all logic, so I refuse to be […]
Chiayi (嘉義)
Philip’s nephew, Matthew, and his girlfriend, Katie, came to Taiwan mentally and physically prepared for the adventures awaiting them. They tackled Taipei like pros, and based on her culinary tastes we’re all convinced that Katie is part Taiwanese. Over the weekend, we headed south by high speed rail to the city of Chiayi. Chiayi is […]
Jules’ first salon haircut
It was high time to transition this eight year old boy’s hair style from little kid to big kid. Although I do enjoy cutting Jules’ hair and derive strange pleasure from watching haircutting YouTube tutorials, I don’t enjoy cleaning up the fistfuls of hair left in the bathtub afterwards. Most professional NYC hair stylists don’t […]
Calla Lily Festival in Yangmingshan National Park (竹子湖海芋季)
Philip’s mother and sister, Kim, arrived in Taipei two days ago for a week long visit where they lucked out on unusually fabulous weather, full of sunshine and warm temperatures. We spent a day at one of our favorite local national parks a half hour drive from our home, the Yangmingshan National Park, where the […]
Sun Moon Lake (曰月潭)
Although we’re heading to Japan in a week, we couldn’t resist going away for a weekend trip to take advantage of the quickly fleeting gorgeous weather in Taipei. Philip had mentioned checking out Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan awhile ago, but I wasn’t so keen on it due to prior subpar tour group experiences. […]
Weekend retreat in Wulai Aboriginal Village (烏來)
I really can’t complain about needing to ‘get away,’ since I’ve had seven months off from work thus far. However, it’s still nice to leave the frenetic energy of a big city every now and then, so Jules and I set out for one of Taiwan’s aboriginal villages in Wulai this weekend. I also happened […]
Pingxi Lantern Festival (平溪天燈節)
What is it about bright lights in a night sky that captivates people of all ages across all cultures? The draw is so deeply embedded in our universal consciousness that 100,000 revelers, Jules and I attended the annual Pingxi Lantern Festival in Taipei last night. At this event, people can release burning lanterns into the […]
Biking at Dajia Riverside Park (大佳河濱公園)
Within one week into the lunar new year Jules accomplished an important life skill…bike riding! After multiple attempts (thank you Kishita family) and much frustration (more on Philip’s and my end than Jules’) Jules conquered his fear of falling and finally rode a bike on his own, yayyyyy! Philip and I were so proud of […]
Lunar New Year 2018 (農曆新年)
新年快樂 (xin nian kuai le), or Happy New Year! Although we would have loved to explore more of Vietnam it was more important to return to Taiwan to celebrate the new lunar year with my family. This was the first time of my life ringing in the new year with my family here, so I […]